House Donar
House Donar was an Imperial Knight House. Known as the "Preceptor House," House Donar served as the warden of the Western Marches of the Knight World of Molech during the Horus Heresy. House Donar was destroyed at the Battle of Molech while guarding the Preceptor Line of the Western Marches. Unleashing the power of Chaos sorcery, the Death Guard Traitor Legion was able to push through the jungle of Kush on Molech. These dark arts annihilated every life form the Death Guard forces came into contact with within the jungle. This devastation pushed many of the powerful mega-fauna that inhabited the Kush jungle out of the region and into the Preceptor Line, where they were slaughtered by the Knights of House Donar. Yet many of these creatures survived and continued to storm through the Preceptor Line, destroying many of House Donar's defences. Badly weakened by this Traitor stratagem, the Knights of House Donar made a last stand against the Traitor Titans of the Legio Mortis and were slain to the last Noble. House History Davard]] The history of House Donar records that the first Donar Scions were descended from the Guardian Preceptor, the bladesmaster of the High King of Molech. In those lost days, the people of Molechari were plagued by the beasts of Kush, the huge monsters ranging out into the Western Marches to hunt among the scattered human settlements. When the old High King passed, the Preceptor walked into the east to face these beasts. On the edge of the great jungles of Kush, the Preceptor planted his blade in the ground and vowed that as long as his house endured, the lands of Mankind would be defended. Centuries later, the Scions of House Donar ruled over the Western Marches and the Preceptor Line. An ancient defensive wall erected against the jungle macro-fauna, it ran hundreds of kilometres from the peaks of the Untar Mesas in the south all the way to the storm-lashed Azure Coast in the north. Along its length, watch towers stood sentinel against the deep jungle beyond, while ramparts, each large enough to accommodate a Knight armour, provided firing platforms. It was a matter of pride for House Donar that as long as the wall had stood, the Western Marches lived free of the horrors of the savage mallahgra and other beasts that had once ranged deep into their lands. Over the years, House Donar became one of the preeminent hunting houses, often competing with House Devine for the venator's glory during Lord Cyprian's beast hunts. These hunts served a dual purpose, both honing the skills of the Scions and thinning the numbers of monsters living close to the edge of the Kush. Baron Balmorn Donar and his firstborn, Robard Donar, the lord and Seneschal of House Donar, respectively, were principal among these hunters. They regularly sallied forth from their watch upon the Preceptor Line to exterminate nests of arcanodons or xenosmilus, dragging the creatures' carcasses back to their fortress as trophies, each kill having honoured the Guardian Preceptor's ancient oath. Battle of Molech It had long been held that the jungles of Kush, a formidable natural barrier populated with dangerous beasts, effectively denied an invader ingress from the east. To this end, Tyana Kourion, Lord General of the Grand Army of Molech, had kept her best troops back for the defence of Lupercalia and commanded only second line Imperial Army companies to hold the Preceptor Line. Fortunately for the defenders, its protection was not the responsibility of the Imperial Army alone. House Donar, one of the ancient knightly houses of Molech, held dominion over the lands bordering the great Kush, and their Household fortress was incorporated into part of the ancient defensive wall. When news came of invaders landing on the eastern shore of Molechari in 008.M31 during the Horus Heresy, the Knight armours of Donar massed upon the Preceptor Line. Unbeknownst to the defenders, the Primarch Mortarion and his Death Guard Legion were forging a path through the jungle even as they waited, fell warp magicks turning its once verdant reaches into a sea of death. Driven forth before the destruction of the jungle, tens of thousands of massive creatures stormed the Preceptor Line, emerging in a frenzied rush to fall upon the defenders. Ravaged by hordes of beasts driven from the jungles, the already crumbling defences had taken further damage to the point that they represented little more than a line in the sand against the advancing Traitor Titans. Despite having expended large amounts of ordnance on destroying the rampaging packs of azhdarchid, xenosmilus and stone serpents, among other macro-fauna, the Knights of House Donar stood their ground. Even as the jungle fell into blackened ruin before their eyes, devoured by the life-eater virus, Lord Balmorn, Baron of House Donar, bade his Knights to hold the line. That they faced the vanguard Titans of the Legio Mortis did not diminish their courage and when the first Titans were sighted emerging from the miasmic clouds that had once marked the jungle's edge, Lord Balrnorn mustered his Knights and issued the order to charge. Though valiant, the efforts of House Donar proved fruitless and the house was destroyed to the last Knight. Notable Knights None listed in current Imperial records. Notable Personnel * Baron Balmorn - Lord Balmorn was the ruler of House Donar. He and his Knights made their last stand when the Traitor Titans of the Legio Mortis advanced upon the Preceptor Line at the Battle of Molech. * Sir Robard - Sir Robard was the firstborn of Lord Balmorn. He was also the Seneschal and a Lord Scion of House Donar. * Sir Davard - Sir Davard was a rising figure in the hierarchy of House Donar. Known for successfully hunting the deadliest of beasts even when the odds were stacked against him, Davard ultimately escaped Molech after its fall and offered his services as a Freeblade. Upon his heraldry, skulls traditionally used to represent kills instead represented those of his banner that had fallen on Molech. Davard was reported to have moved towards Terra intent on slaying the greatest beast of them all -- the Warmaster Horus himself. Sources * Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Doom of Molech (Specialty Game), pp. 48-49, 62 Category:D Category:Imperial Walkers Category:Imperium Category:Knight Houses Category:Walkers Category:Imperial Knights